The present invention relates to a jacquard knitting machine for producing ribbed fabric, and relates more particularly to such a rib jacquard knitting machine for knitting eyelet stitches as well as transfer stitches.
A rib jacquard knitting machine uses two sets of needles for knitting rib jacquard fabrics. The action of a jacquard knitting is performed by means of the operation of a needle section unit, which is disposed close to the feet of the needles or the tails of the sinkers and controlled to selectively lift the needles or push the sinkers, to make a colored, crimped, eyed, pattern work. A fabric made according to this method is called jacquard fabric. Conventionally, a rib jacquard knitting machine is made by attaching a needle selection unit to a rib knitting machine.
A jacquard fabric having an eyelet stitch or a transfer stitch is formed by means of the action of pelerine needles or transfer needles. According to conventional methods, pelerine needles and transfer needles cannot be arranged on one rib jacquard knitting machine, i.e., pelerine needles and transfer needles must be arranged on different rib jacquard knitting machines for different knitting patterns. Therefore, a rib jacquard knitting machine for knitting a transfer stitch cannot produce an eyelet stitch. On the contrary a rib jacquard knitting machine for knitting an eyelet stitch cannot product a transfer stitch.
Furthermore, a transfer needle and a pelerine needle are different in structure. If a rib jacquard knitting machine which is equipped with transfer needles is to be changed into a design having pelerine needles, the transfer needles must be completely removed from the machine for allowing pelerine needles to be installed, and the original cam section for driving the transfer needles must also be replaced by cam sections for driving pelerine needles. Therefore, it is not economic to change the design of a rib jacquard knitting machine for knitting a transfer stitch to the design for knitting an eyelet stitch or vice versa.